FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – President Duterte is considering plans to tap a portion of the P5-billion funds remitted by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to build a massive drug rehabilitation center in Visayas.
The President bared plans for a new facility to treat drug dependents following the inauguration of the country’s first “Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center” inside the military camp in Nueva Ecija.
The new drug rehabilitation center with a 10,000-bed capacity was made possible through the P1.4 billion donation made by Chinese philanthropist Huang Rulun whom Duterte described as a “Good Samaritan.”
“Let us say next year, and if I can get hold of P1.5 (billion), maybe I will also build another one, this time somewhere in the Visayas,” the President said.
“But I am sure kasi may tinurn over (turn over) ang PAGCOR, R5 billion kagabi,” Duterte added, recalling her meeting with PAGCOR chief Andrea Domingo in the Palace last Tuesday.
The President expressed gratitude to Huang and other local partners for the establishment of the large drug rehabilitation facility inside Fort Magsaysay, saying it was a concrete display of how real friends treat each other.
Huang, an overseas Chinese in the Philippines, has donated P1.4 billion to build two drug rehabilitation centers in support of Duterte’s campaign against the illegal drug trade.
“When you are a friend, you do not treat him badly before the public. You do not humiliate an ally. And at all costs, you must save the friendship as an ally and friend so that you can help each other in the world of geopolitics,” he said. (Genalyn Kabiling)